Privacy Information

Privacy Information is a project of Consumer Action, a national non-profit consumer advocacy and education organization. The legal right to privacy has been recognized in the U.S. since the late 1890s, but its roots go back to this country's founding. The Privacy Information Project focuses on personal privacy and why it is important to be careful about who has access to your personal information.

CA News & Special Reports

Consumer Action INSIDER - March 2015 The March 2015 issue of Consumer Action INSIDER features stories about our work on California legislative issues, new class actions and a look at credit scores and medical debt discussed at the most recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau consumer advisory board meeting. Hotline Chronicles tells the tale of two consumers who had trouble getting their cell phones unlocked—a new option that major wireless carriers have agreed to provide to subscribers who are no longer under contracts. ( Sunday, March 01, 2015 )

Five Recent Publications

Privacy and control for social media users How much do you want to share?. This brochure presents the potential privacy risks in social networking and prepares social media users to make wise choices about what they share and who they share it with. It includes information about how to use the privacy controls on social networking websites and apps and offers tips for enjoying social media while still protecting your personal privacy.

Recommended Publications

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Preparing Millennials to Lead in Cyberspace. Young adults, also known as millennials (ages 18 to 26), hold the key to close the cyber talent gap. Having grown up in a digital environment, millennials are well positioned for these cybersecurity careers, since they are at the stage when they need to choose a profession and will be in the workforce for several decades. This survey reviews U.S. millennials’ career interests, level of career preparedness and their online attitudes and behaviors.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Chronology of Data Breaches. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has been tracking breaches since 2005 and publishes a Chronology of Data Breaches.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Protect Your Child from ID theft. The California Office of Privacy Protection (COPP) has released a fact sheet for consumers on how to check their child's credit records and other ways to protect them from identity theft.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Are social networks “friends” with law enforcement?. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a privacy coalition partner with Consumer Action, has released more information on how the government seeks and obtains personal information from social media companies like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. EFF asked the Department of Justice and other federal agencies for copies of guides, not previously made public, that these sites send out to law enforcement explaining how agents can obtain information about users and what kinds of information are available. The guides reveal that social networking sites have struggled to develop consistent, straightforward policies to govern how and when they will provide private user information to law enforcement agencies.